Introducing Mark Blacknell, WABA’s New President

Hi, Mark Blacknell here. I’m a cyclist. And a driver. And a pedestrian. And WABA’s newest Board President.

Yesterday, my fellow WABA board members placed their confidence in me, electing me President along with re-electing Martin Moulton as Vice President, Paul d’Eustachio as Treasurer, and Randall Myers as Secretary. The board – and WABA as a whole – owe Barbara Klieforth a debt of gratitude for her years of dedicated service as President. Thankfully, she will be remaining on the board, and will continue to help guide WABA.

I feel very lucky to be taking this on right now. We’ve got a membership who actively support our mission. We maintain good relationships with most area governments. We certainly have a fantastic and effective staff. In short, we’re in good shape.

I also look forward to supporting and expanding WABA’s efforts to reach out to communities that haven’t traditionally been a focus of bike advocacy. The development of our East of the Anacostia project has been thrilling to see, and I hope we can build the capacity for similar efforts with the “Invisible Cyclists” of our immigrant communities. The gender gap is something that should concern all cyclists, and I eagerly anticipate the next step in the process started at the Women’s Bicycling Forum. Shorter version: cycling is for everyone, and our advocacy should reflect that.

Finally, I’ll be working to improve region-wide cooperation and communication among cycling advocates. WABA can’t – and doesn’t need – to be at the table for every cycling issue that comes up in the greater Washington area. We can, however, help connect and support local advocates in addressing their local issues. On the other side of that coin, I hope to engage my fast friends in MABRAland and my dirty friends at MORE to ensure that when big cycling issues are on the line, we can bring our full and joint voice to the discussion.

So that’s my hope for WABA in the future. But I can’t – WABA can’t – do any of this alone. We need your help and ideas. So I’d very much like to hear about yours. You can always reach me at Mark (at) waba.org, share your thoughts in the comments below, or say hello at the next WABA event.

P.S. That rumor that Shane Farthing started on Twitter, about me wanting a Katy Perry-led bike ride in DC? Totally a joke. (Unless you’re reading and interested, Katy. Then you should call me.)